2024–25 Season

Illuminations: “Fractured History”

Illuminations connects groundbreaking UC Berkeley scholarship to themes taken up by the world-class music, dance, and theater presented by Cal Performances. Illuminations programming, which includes performances, panel discussions, lecture demonstrations, Q&As, and more, sheds light on pressing topics with the power to transform our understanding of the world and shape the future.

Our understanding of history is neither static nor complete; rather, it is dynamic and ever-changing due to the malleability of our collective memory. Examining the evolution of our historical narratives often entails reevaluating our collective understanding of the truth, and finding new sources and voices with the potential to add layers to our understanding. Through this year’s theme of “Fractured History”, we aim to explore and expand our understanding of the past. In partnership with campus thought leaders, Illuminations performances and public programs investigate what gets lost when we abridge complex events, how we might “zoom out” to be more inclusive in historical perspective, and what role the arts can play in restoring nuance to the way we view our past, present, and future.

Through performances and public programs presented in cooperation with our many partners at UC Berkeley, Illuminations will empower us to explore the tensions that come into play while balancing the interests of the individual with the interest of the group.

Surrealism, Appropriation, and Reconciliation in Messiaen’s Harawi
Fri, Sep 27
6:30–7:45pm
Zellerbach Hall Mezzanine
Free for ticket holders

The Illuminations: “Fractured History” performance of Olivier Messiaen’s Harawi will be preceded by a round table discussion in which a group of scholars and practitioners explore the ethical and aesthetic facets of Harawi. Messiaen modeled his 1945 song cycle on the Andean harawi lament tradition, adapting and recomposing traditional melodies he found in a published collection of Inca music and inserting untranslated blocks of text in the Quechua language into the French poetry. This staging by the American Modern Opera Company approaches the bodies of the singer and dancers as living archives imprinted with traces of Messiaen’s personal circumstances when he composed the songs and of the ancient tradition that animated his complex rhythms and melodies.

How can we come to terms with the fact that Messiaen’s style owes so much to unacknowledged, and sometimes misunderstood, indigenous models? How can a dramatic staging of the song cycle help to confront and perhaps partly reconcile Messaien’s debt? This round table will reflect on the entanglement of avant garde aesthetics, mysticism, and cultural appropriation in this fascinating performance.

Panelists Bios >

Pre-performance Q&A
Sat, Nov 2
7–7:45pm
Zellerbach Hall Mezzanine
Free for ticket holders

All ticketholders for the Saturday evening performance are invited to join us on the Zellerbach Hall Mezzanine for a pre-performance Q&A from 7–7:45pm. Jovan Scott Lewis, chair of UC Berkeley’s Geography Department, will be interviewing C. Brian Williams, founder and executive director of Step Afrika!, along with Antwan Davis, Bay Area music and dance educator and former member of Step Afrika!. The Q&A will discuss the making of the work as well as its relation to Cal Performances’ Illuminations: “Fractured History” theme.

Pre-performance Q&A
Sun, Nov 3
2:15–2:45pm
Hertz Hall
Free for ticket holders

All ticketholders for this performance are invited to join us in Hertz Hall for a pre-performance Q&A from 2:15–2:45pm. Bay Area-based Native American dancer and scholar Eddie Madril will be interviewing Dover violinist Joel Link and cellist Camden Shaw  The Q&A will discuss the quartet’s program and its relation to Cal Performances’ Illuminations: “Fractured History” theme.